French Director of 'The Artist' Wins DGA Award

French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, who produced the black-and-white silent movie "The Artist," has won a Directors Guild of America award in an indication that the film stands a good chance of winning an Oscar next month.

Hazanavicius competed for the outstanding achievement in feature film award with two big-name Hollywood directors, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, respective producers of "Midnight in Paris" and "Hugo."

Also competing for the DGA awards Saturday were David Fincher, director of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and Alexander Payne, producer of "The Descendants."

It was the first time Hazanavicius, whose film won three Golden Globes on January 16, competed for a DGA award.

"The Artist" also won last Tuesday 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director.

The Oscars will be presented in Hollywood on February 26.

Since 1948, only six DGA award winners have failed to also take the Oscar for best director, one of the most prestigious awards in Hollywood.

Other winners of the night were James Marsh, for the documentary "Project Nim," Jon Cassar, the miniseries "The Kennedys" Patty Jenkins, the television drama "The Killing," and Robert Weide, for the chapter "Palestinian Chicken" from the comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."